VERMONA Adds More Eurorack Modules

VERMONA has announced availability of the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator and the quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator. Here's their press release with all the details:

The uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator is a six-waveform VCO (Voltage-Controlled Oscillator) module for the popular Eurorack small-format modular system with an outstanding feature set that is all set to help it stand out from the sound of the crowd (to partially paraphrase the early-Eighties British breakthrough hit from synth-pop pioneers The Human League, no strangers to Eurorack today themselves).

Audio-oscillators are probably the most widespread modules found in Eurorack small-format modular systems today -- hardly surprising since they are fundamental for generating synthetic sounds, both tonal as well as percussive. Oscillators, of course, are at the musical heart of VERMONA's sought-after synthesizers, such as the flagship '14 ANALOG SYNTHESIZER, so the company clearly knows how to design them. That said, instead of applying a 'copy and paste' procedure, it reworked many aspects, adapting its oscillator circuits to Eurorack small-format modular system usage. After all, what works well for closed systems might not necessarily be perfectly suited to modular systems. Such 'due diligence' displayed during research and development resulted in the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator, a compact (10 HP-wide), high-performance, and stable oscillator offering all the common features that the discerning Eurorack small-format modular system user might easily expect... and, arguably, much more besides.

Besides classic sawtooth, triangle and square offerings, the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator generates sine, even, and a special sawtooth with doubled frequency for a total of six waveform OUTPUTS. PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is not only available for that square wave, but also even -- a shape that only has even-numbered harmonics -- can be transformed into a sine-like wave, while the doubled saw turns into half-pitched triangles. There are also six OUTPUTS, including LIN FM (Linear Frequency Modulation) and EXP FM (Exponential Frequency Modulation) as well as H - SYNC - S (hard and soft sync).

Saving space, one knob allows access to the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator's frequencies in three different modes. TUNE either controls the low frequency or audio range, respectively adding or subtracting exactly one octave. In this calibrated mode it provides a 'dead-zone' around its centre position, making it easy to access all three octaves without needing a centre-click.

Care was taken to make the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator suitable for use in a musical context when VERMONA made its design decisions. Delivering superlative sound quality with rock-solid, stable tuning, the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator obviously fulfils those all-important criteria, handling huge tuning ranges with the greatest of ease while strictly following the 1-volt-per-octave convention.

Clearly, then, the uniCYCLE voltage controlled oscillator makes a strong case for anyone to embrace Eurorack... and at least one such module should be in every Eurorack small-format modular casing!

The quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator is a four-channel polarizer module for the popular Eurorack small-format modular system, capable of attenuating any incoming signal, in-phase or out of phase, plus providing additional functionality for further flexibility.

Eurorack has been nicknamed 'Eurocrack'... and for good reason. It's certainly addictive! As any enlightened Eurorack small-format modular system user would surely say: you can never have enough modules that influence levels, be that for audio signals or control voltages. VERMONA's quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator helps fill that void -- or, indeed, any empty Eurorack rack-space (assuming that potential purchasers have 10 HP to spare in their system) -- as a four-channel polarizer module, capable of attenuating any incoming signal, in-phase or out of phase. Putting it ahead of the Eurorack pack, the way that each of those four channels work is one of its most distinguishing features. Fortunately, instead of only having one dedicated zero-point, it has a 'dead-zone' where the input signal will be completely suppressed, so users can easily locate the off position -- even without a centre-click -- while simultaneously being able to create extremely sensitive level increases.

Further flexibility abounds as the quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator realises a number of other outstanding features. Firstly, any channel's OUTPUT signal is optionally forwarded to the next one, allowing the quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator to be used as a mixer module, as implied by its full appellation; as such, users can sum up to four signals. Secondly, the quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator can also be controlled via control voltages, with each channel boasting a CV IN alongside its INPUT; so, setting the level manually apart, users can also use each channel as a VCA (Voltage-Controlled Amplifier)... and -- Eurorack being 'Eurocrack' -- you can never have enough VCAs in a modular system, now, can you? Yet more functionality comes courtesy of the fact that the quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator has one four-quadrant multiplier per channel, allowing the module to also act as a ring modulator without any compromises -- in fact, four ring modulators!

Mind the (10 HP-wide) gap. As flexible as it is functional, then, owners of any Eurorack small-format modular system should surely consider adding a quadroPOL polarizing mixer / ringmodulator to their setup. After all, once you've got your hands on one, it's hard to live without it. Indeed, once you've got your hands on one, you might need to satisfy your addiction with another!